Here's a scrund that does not involve mishearing or misunderstanding a word or phrase. For over 20 years, I had a really ridiculous belief about animals. Once I got disabused, I thought I must be the only person who had this preposterous belief for so long, but I've since discovered other people who've had the same sort of scrund. What is it??

Posted on Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 9:08 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Did it involve a particular species?yes Family or other group of species? see previous answer All types of animals? no

Did it involve their intelligence? no Abilities?noish or yope

Did you gain this belief in childhood? yes Was it due to a certain portrayal of animals? no Like how animated/cartoon animals always look cute and can communicate? no

Does the scrund have anything to do with the classification of that species relative to other species? In other words, did you think it was in the same family as some other animal, when in fact they are only distantly related, or not at all?

Posted on Sunday, July 20, 2008 - 1:28 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does the scrund have anything to do with the classification of that species relative to other species? no In other words, did you think it was in the same family as some other animal, when in fact they are only distantly related, or not at all? noNew member Username: Kaori

does this relate to captive fish? see next answer pet fish? yes wild fish? noedible fish? I suppose this typr of fish is edible but I know of no one who eats itdoes it relate to fins? not specifically teeth? dittoeyes?ditto scales?ditto gills?ditto mouth?ditto tail?ditto body? yesishdoes it relate to sharks? no

is it relevant how you came by this misconception?yes was it from looking at a fish?yope seeing a picture of one? noKaori (Kaori) New member Username: Kaori

Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 3:53 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Would you have immediately noticed the incorrectness of your belief after a brief, but close-up look at a goldfish? no After watching it swim for a few minutes? no

Could you have the same mistaken belief about any type of fish? no About any fish with approximately the same shape as a goldfish? Shape is irrel & I don't know enough about different species of fish to know if all approximately goldfish-shaped fish have the characteristic that's crucial for this puzzle.

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 - 12:08 am: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Does it have anything to do with weight?no With bones? nomuscles? no Anything else to do with how the fish propels itself? no

Anything to do with the color of the fish? Would it be possible to see or observe the relevant characteristic with bare eyes? Would the relevant characteristic mean that, under some circumstances, something with the fish is happening? or something would change? Maybe you thought goldfish were able to change their color?

Post Number: 446 Registered: 6-2003 Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 8:02 pm: Anything to do with the color of the fish? noWould it be possible to see or observe the relevant characteristic with bare eyes? yesWould the relevant characteristic mean that, under some circumstances, something with the fish is happening? yesish or something would change? noishMaybe you thought goldfish were able to change their color? noBodo (Bodo) New member Username: Bodo

Post Number: 2431 Registered: 2-2001 Posted on Thursday, August 07, 2008 - 3:37 pm: That they were made of gold? no

Post Number: 1365 Registered: 6-2005 Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 5:27 pm: Does this have to do with a goldfish's trait to grow to fit its environment? no Did you think all goldfish were tiny? Well, this is ANOTHER scrund, this information is news to me Until you saw one that was larger than a salmon? No. See previous answer--I've never seen such a goldfish

- They're gold/orange (except for the humongous carp that live in ponds) - They're very small (again, except for carp) - They are common, inexpensive pets - They are commonly a child's first pet - They are commonly sold in plastic bags - They are (stereotypically) kept in fish bowls - They die quickly and are commonly flushed down the toilet afterwards - They are sometimes swallowed live by strange people

You didn't believe they were actually made of gold, did you? Or ate it, or had some other relationship to the actual element?

- They're gold/orange (except for the humongous carp that live in ponds) - They're very small (again, except for carp) - They are common, inexpensive pets - They are commonly a child's first pet - They are commonly sold in plastic bags - They are (stereotypically) kept in fish bowls - They die quickly and are commonly flushed down the toilet afterwards - They are sometimes swallowed live by strange people

You didn't believe they were actually made of gold, did you? Or ate it, or had some other relationship to the actual element?

- They're gold/orange (except for the humongous carp that live in ponds) no- They're very small (again, except for carp) no- They are common, inexpensive pets yope- They are commonly a child's first pet yope- They are commonly sold in plastic bags no- They are (stereotypically) kept in fish bowls no- They die quickly and are commonly flushed down the toilet afterwards - They are sometimes swallowed live by strange people no

You didn't believe they were actually made of gold, did you? noOr ate it, or had some other relationship to the actual element? no

Does the fact relate to:

- scientific facts about goldfish? yope or yesish- goldfish care? no- commonly-held stereotypes of goldfish (like some of those listed above)? no

Did you keep your own goldfish, yes or know someone who kept one no one else? If not, and you had kept or seen a goldfish, would the scrund have occurred or been corrected? N/A Is a pet store relevant at all? no

This doesn't have anything to do with the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish snack crackers, does it? (mmmm, Parmesan!) no

Did your goldfish die when you weren't there, your parents hastily replaced it before you got home, you never noticed, they did this repeatedly, and you got the impression that goldfish are very long-lived?

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 - 6:28 pm: Edit PostDelete PostView Post/Check IPPrint Post Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)Ban Poster IP (Moderator/Admin only) Did your goldfish die when you weren't there, your parents hastily replaced it before you got home, you never noticed, they did this repeatedly, and you got the impression that goldfish are very long-lived? YES!!!

***** SPOILER ************** My mother used to br allergic to feathers & fur (a real disaster for a cat-lover like me). So my family had to make do with turtles (which are surprisingly good company) & goldfish (which are not). As Jenburdoo guessed, my parents managed to find & replace "Goldie" each time our goldfish died; so I though goldfish lived to be about 8. This happened when I was 4-12, but the subject never came up for about 20 years, when mother corrected my offhand remark about Goldie's longevity.Of course, she had assumed I had long since figured it out, or that my father had long since told me. Thanks for sticking with it, everyone, & for solving it, Jenburoo, & please check out my new puzzle at the bottom of the page.

I believed a similar scrund; when my neighbor's cat died in my youth, my parents told me they had taken it to a farm where it could run around free. I believed for entirely too long that there were cat and even dog farms: no one harvested anything from the hypothetical animals, they just ran around in the fields.}

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